Once in Cotabato, the brothers and sisters discussed God’s Word with both the local residents and the evacuees from Davao who had settled there. In the town of Pikit the Witnesses were befriended by a man who had obtained some literature before the war. Through him they met two of his relatives, Pedro and Aniano Brillas, who accepted the truth and are among Jehovah’s people to this day. When the Japanese forces finally occupied Cotabato, the brothers were forced to keep moving from place to place to avoid being conscripted for work in the Japanese garrisons. They camped in the hills when it became dangerous to stay in the town proper. This moving around proved to be a blessing in disguise, as a number of our present-day overseers and ministerial servants, especially those in Kabacan and Kidapawan, were first contacted at that time. In the latter town, a man named Guillermo Alegado rejoiced to see the brothers, since he had once studied the Bible in Hawaii with Brother Dos Santos, before the latter came to the Philippines. The entire Alegado family came into the truth. Besides the Alegado and Brillas families, others contacted at that time were Antero and Macario Baswel, Alfredo Nadong, Anastacio Gonzales, Arsenio Bermudez and Manuel Gamponia.

On one occasion, some of the brothers were arrested by guerrillas as suspected Japanese spies. When they learned that Pedro Brillas was a former soldier, they beat him mercilessly. Four of the brothers were kept overnight and then taken deep into the jungle to be imprisoned. They were put in small cages similar to those used for transporting live pigs, and these were so cramped that the brothers could neither lie down nor stand up, but only sit. They continued to bear witness, even under these conditions, and, as a result, one of their guards, Lorenzo Hersan, accepted the truth and was later baptized. The brothers remained in captivity for almost two months before being released due to the intervention of a relative of the Brillas brothers.

Taking advantage of a temporary lull in the fighting, a few brothers and sisters had returned to Davao, their homeplace. On Samal Island they found Lino Ilaguison still faithfully serving. In spite of the fact that this brother was arrested and imprisoned five times by the Japanese or their cohorts, he was able to establish several groups on the island.

When the American forces arrived on the Davao mainland at the end of 1944, these brothers on Samal Island moved to the mainland, eager to make contact with other Witnesses. A group of about fifty went first to Bato, Santa Cruz, Davao, to the home of Galicano Picot, an interested man who had been contacted by Brother Felino Comidoy. Picot was president of the Japanese-controlled Neighborhood Association, but he accepted the truth and actively witnessed to all he met. Because he could not conscientiously do much of the work required of him by the Neighborhood Association, he was eventually relieved of his position, for which he was happy. When the fifty brothers from Samal Island stayed for a while in his home, he was accused by neighbors and relatives of harboring dissidents. But before the Witnesses could be apprehended, he sent them away by night, and they traveled through the forest and mountains until they joined Brother Liwag’s “congregation” at the foot of Mount Apo.

The congregation as a whole was called “Jehovah-Shammah,” and each Witness was given a Biblical name, such as “Joel,” “Jonadab,” “David” and so forth, some of which stick to the brothers to this very day. This was done to prevent ready identification, since Brother Liwag especially was on the “wanted” lists of the guerrillas and Japanese soldiers. If strangers came near the camp, the word tiki was used to spread the warning to the others. Incidentally, that word means “house lizard” in Cebuano.

A number of times the Witnesses were discovered by both sides in the war. Once a Japanese patrol took Brother Liwag to their headquarters, where he was grilled for several hours by the officer in charge. Amazingly, he was allowed to go free after he had given a good witness regarding Jehovah’s kingdom. On another occasion, a guerrilla band searched for him, but he hid up in the bark ceiling of a house and was not seen.